4 Hours
by Agentsassy08
Summary: 4 armed robbers. 2 FBI Agents, 4 hours and 1 million dollars. Chapter 5 is up now.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** 4 Hours  
**Genre:** Friendship, Drama, suspense  
**Rating:** T, violence & some language  
**Characters:** Liz Warner & Nikki Betancourt-friendship.  
**Summary:** 4 armed robbers. 2 FBI Agents, 4 hours and 1 million dollars. While shopping on a Friday night at a grocery store for some food, the girls are caught in a messy rampage & Nikki is wounded badly. Don and his team have 4 hours to get 1 million dollars in exchange for the two agents to be freed.  
**Disclaimer:**I own nothing related to the show!

**Authors Note: **CHAPTER ONE **_REVISED_**!

* * *

**Chapter One**

It was early evening on a Friday in Pasadena, California. Agents Liz Warner and Nikki Betancourt walked together into a local grocery store to pick up some snacks to bring over to the Eppes family home for happy hour. They had all finished a successful case and needed time to celebrate and spend time together. The guys were in charge of the alcohol and the girls were in charge of getting the treats and food. They went to the chips aisle immediately.

"We'll need about three bags of chips, considering how much _you love _chips and how much the boys eat," teased Nikki.

Liz laughed while Nikki tossed in several bags of chips into their cart and the two continued their way through the store.

"I have a feeling tonight is going to be an interesting night—I can feel it," spoke Liz.

She then concentrated on the different foods before her on the levels of shelves. Nikki let out a laugh while they walked slowly.

"Yeah," Nikki agreed, "just about as interesting as last Friday? And no whip cream this time, whip cream is a no-no," Nikki explained, "I do not need to get whip-creamed again, Ian ruined my new heels."

Agent Ian Edgerton, the sniper specialist for the FBI had stopped by to hang out with everyone last Friday, because he was in town. However, a whip-cream fight broke out and got out of control. Edgerton decided to go after Nikki and soaked her from head to toe in whip cream. Liz busted out laughing the thought of the scene from last Friday and looked over to Nikki with a big smile as a wonderful idea popped into her head.

"Or we can bring whip cream, only this time, get Amita in on this too, and attack the boys after what they did with us," explained Liz.

Nikki smiled, "that is a good idea, but I think we should get a better idea going then that. Go grab some whip cream…. I'm going to grab some water balloons too."

Liz laughed and ran off to the cooler section for some whip cream. Nikki laughed some more about it. She was getting more and more excited for the hang out with the team. She may be a rookie in the FBI still, but despite that she was a rookie, the team was just like a family to her already, especially Liz. Liz was like the big sister to her and she enjoyed hanging out with Liz. The two girls always had great ideas together, especially when it came getting back to the guys when they were assholes. Nikki tossed in some zebra cakes and crossed them off the list. She then saw a few more items left on the list, including water balloons that were _not_ on the list. Liz came running back with eight cans of whip cream in her arms. Nikki stopped in her tracks and looked to Liz in shock.

"Damn girl…." gasped Nikki, "really?"

Liz laughed, "Well you said water balloons….I'm assuming we're going to need a lot if we want to really soak them…plus they're about a couple sizes bigger than us…we were easy to be soaked by them….they're going to be harder to get. Maybe we can get Alan to help us."

Nikki laughed again, "Alan? I think he'd want to stay out of this…you saw him quickly leave out of the dining room last weekend when he sensed trouble amongst all of us."

Liz laughed, "True, what else is left on the list now?"

Nikki looked back to the list.

"We just need some cheese, salsa, stuff like that... for nachos...and then cookies and some ice cream," explained Nikki.

Liz nodded, "Sounds good."

Her phone then rang. She looked at her caller I.D. and saw 'Don Eppes' calling her. She rolled her eyes, glanced over to Nikki then they continued grabbing stuff while she answered.

"Warner," answered Liz.

She listened to Don and Nikki looked over to Liz.

"Yeah, yeah, we're almost finished, we're here right now. We just need a few more things, and then gotta check out and we'll be over in probably forty-five minutes. You can always order pizza in the mean time, since I thought that's what we were having for dinner to begin with," Liz pointed out.

Liz paused again and let out a slight laugh.

"You better have our drinks ready too," added Liz, "We're hurrying as fast as we can…I promise we'll be there within thirty-forty-five minutes, okay?"

Liz paused once more then spoke again.

"Yeah, see ya Don," said Liz.

Liz hung up and rolled her eyes.

"Don?" asked Nikki, "Is the poor baby hungry?"

"Not just him, Colby says 'he's practically starving right now' because we don't have food there yet," Liz laughed, "That's why I laughed."

Nikki laughed and rolled her eyes.

"He's always hungry," Nikki chuckled, "We just need some cookies now…wow, Oreos?"

Liz looked over to Nikki and laughed.

"Those are delicious, I bet you Colby wrote that down, he says Oreo's are his favorite bedtime snack," Liz laughed.

Nikki laughed with Liz and shook her head and tossed them into their cart next. They grabbed a few more things and then started to head their way up to the front of the store, laughing and joking around with each other, both getting more excited to hang out again with the team in a little bit. However, their excitement quickly plummeted when gun shots went off. Nikki and Liz dropped to the ground and both whipped their guns out. Screams were heard throughout the store from other customers, while four African-American men entered the store and started yelling out orders. Nikki and Liz moved behind two different aisles so they could be hidden and watch the suspicious individuals.

"Put the money in the bags right now!" The first man yelled.

Liz and Nikki glanced over to each other and then looked down the aisle between them that was a clear cut path to the registers where the first man stood with a pistol sideways pointing into the cashier's face. The girl frantically opened up the register while she pleaded him to not shoot her, which just egged the man on even more.

"Shut your fucking mouth and just put the money in the bag bitch or I will shoot you and get it myself!" He screamed.

Tears fell down the girls face as she quickly put the money from the register into the bag. Nikki and Liz glanced over to each other again. Their hearts pounded from the unexpected intruders. The main man then looked to two of his buds behind him who were watching the store with a third man also.

"You two, search the store," He barked.

The two walked off with their guns in their hands grasped firmly. Liz and Nikki watched the one walk down their aisle while the other did so. Liz looked over to Nikki and nodded. Nikki and Liz stood up and pointed their guns to the man, startling him.

"FBI!" The girls screamed.

"Drop your gun and hands in the air," Nikki demanded.

The man stopped in his tracks suddenly, took a step back and then his partner turned the corner towards Nikki and saw them. Gun shots fired from the second man and nailed Nikki into her left abdomen. Nikki dropped to the ground and screamed. Liz shot the man in the chest in their aisle, he dropped and Liz quickly grabbed Nikki and pulled her out of the firing zone. Nikki screamed in pain while she arched over into a fetal position against Liz. The main man at the front of the store turned around to see his man shot and wounded and the two girls. Liz looked down to Nikki and helped her up.

"We have to go now," Liz said, seeing the main man staring at them, "Now!"

Liz yanked Nikki up to her feet and the girls took off walking quickly towards the back of the store now, firing back at the other guy who was still after them.

"I…I can't go…" breathed Nikki.

"Yes you can Nikki, you're strong, come on!" shouted Liz, firing back.

They quickly dipped behind another aisle when gun shots went off. Liz looked to Nikki who was prompted up against the wall now. Blood seeped through her hands that covered over her left abdomen. Nikki then dropped to the ground and Liz grabbed her.

"Nikki!" screamed Liz.

Liz stopped firing and pushed her on her back. Nikki's eyes were closed and mouth was slightly opened, slowly inhaling and exhaling as much air as she could. Liz hovered over her best friend, freaking out.

"Nikki, look at me!" yelled Liz, "Look at me."

Nikki wanted to, she heard Liz demanding her to look up to her, but she was just too weak to do anything. All she wanted to do was just lie there and try to forget about the pain.

"It's going to be okay Nikki; I'm going to get you out of here…" She heard Liz say, "It's going to be okay."

**To be continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Don checked his watch as he noticed that the girls, Nikki and Liz, were still not there. Anxious and a bit worried something has happened to them, he started to pace between the living room and the dining room when the news caught his ears. He abruptly stopped and rushed over to where his dad was sitting.

"Dad, turn that up," Don requested.

While glancing back at his son, Alan turned up the volume as requested. Don stood behind his dad's chair while he listened carefully, but because the guys were too loud, he couldn't really hear anything. He snatched the remote off the arm chair and then turned it up even more. Getting impatient with everyone he yelled.

"Just shut up everyone for one minute will you, please?" Don screamed.

Everyone quickly went quiet and looked to him, and then looked over to the news station as the reporter came on to announce what was going on in the scene they were showing.

"About twenty minutes ago four gunmen entered the grocery store and started on a shooting rampage to rob the store. However, unknown gunshots went off at them inside the store. Some people who were luckily to escape say the gunshots came from two FBI agents who are still trapped in the store with many more…reports say one of the gunmen has been shot and is injured, but other reports of other injuries are unknown. We will keep you updated….this is fox 9 news, reporting live," spoke the reporter.

Don gulped, clenched his teeth together, and then quickly whipped his phone out and hit speed dial number two to call Liz and see where she was at.

* * *

Don's phone rang through to Liz's phone, startling her. She and Nikki were still trapped in the store and Nikki was still trying to fight for her life. Liz quickly answered her phone so the gunman guarding them would not take it away from her.

"Don, I can't talk right now," She answered.

"Please tell me you and Nikki are out of that grocery store," Don begged.

Liz wished they were out of the store. Liz looked sadly down to her friend who lay still, drenched in blood, and in terrible pain.

"Liz?" Don asked.

"No….still in here," Liz whispered.

Their "guard" noticed Liz was on her phone.

"Hey!" The guard shouted at her, "Who the hell do you think you are? I don't care if you're FBI, but we're the ones in charge of this store right now and you need to get off that damn phone!"

Don glanced over to the others when he heard the stranger yell at Liz. The guy then walked over and backhanded her across the face for breaking rules, causing Liz to drop next to Nikki with a painful cry.

"Liz?" Don quickly asked, "Liz, what's going on?"

The man snatched the cell phone off the ground and hung up. Don then slammed his phone shut and looked over to everyone and started giving out orders.

"Let's go, Liz and Nikki are in that grocery store right now," Don ordered.

Everyone quickly dispersed and took off.

* * *

Don and Edgerton pulled up in his SUV followed by David and Colby next. Don then quickly jumped out, slammed his door and headed over to the first police officer he saw. Edgerton, David, and Colby followed behind him to not only help, but to make sure Don wouldn't explode or go crazy on anybody. Don then walked up to the first police officer he saw and flashed his badge at him.

"Agent Don Eppes, FBI, who's in charge here?" Don asked.

The officer glanced down to his badge and looked back up to Don.

"FBI? Who called the Feds?" The officer replied.

"Doesn't matter, I want to know where your officer is in charge here, because I'm taking over this," Don explained.

The man clenched his teeth together and looked up and down at Don with annoyance. He then pointed over to an older officer and Don headed over to him, when he turned around and Don immediately recognized him. His heart skipped a beat as he went slightly confused of what he was doing here, since he was in charge of the gang task force.

"Lieutenant, Gary Walker?" Don asked.

Walker looked up to Eppes, surprised as well.

"Eppes! Boy, am I glad to see you guys! Where's that math genius of yours?" Walker asked, "Maybe he can figure out away to get into the store safely and capture those four bastards in there."

Don smirked and shook hands with him.

"I'm glad to see you too, my two agents are in there, Agents Liz Warner and Nikki Betancourt, they're being held hostage," Don explained.

"I heard two FBI Agents were in there, but I didn't know they were yours! It's the girls, right?" Gary asked.

"Yes," Don answered.

"Alright," Walker said, "Follow me so we can discuss this. If you've noticed, obviously I am in charge here and we both know I'm in charge of the gang task force unit for LAPD. With that said, I am here, because the four gunmen inside are hardcore gang bangers and will go anywhere and do anything to get their cash and goods."

The agents and Walker all circled around and faced each other.

"Alright," Don said, "So who are these gang bangers?"

"That's why we're going to head over to the FBI and start a meeting," Walker explained, "I got all my information back at the station so I'll have to meet up with you boys. I got a good man in charge right now so don't worry. Let's head out."

Don was about to reply to him, when Don's phone rang and interrupted him. He looked to his phone first to see who was calling him and saw 'Liz Warner' pop up on caller I.D. Don cleared his throat and showed it to Gary. The two exchanged looks as Don put Liz on speaker.

"Eppes," He answered.

"Don?" Liz's voice replied.

"Liz?" Don quickly asked, "Liz, what's going on? How are you girls?"

Liz hesitated, looked down to Nikki and glanced up to the man who stared down at them with anger.

"I…I can't talk much Don," Liz replied, "I've been ordered to call you to set up a negotiation."

Don looked to Walker while Colby and David exchanged worried looks.

"Alright, what do they want?" Don asked.

Liz looked back down to Nikki, holding back her tears.

"He wants you guys to let you know that they won't let anybody go unless they have a certain amount of money. They robbed the store, because it was a continued duty ordered by their boss to get money. Once they heard we were FBI agents, they held up the store and think we're worth much more than the money they have in bags from the registers in the store," Liz explained.

Don closed his eyes.

"Go on," Don replied.

"They want a million within four hours. The reason why its four hours is because that is when their money to the boss is due," Liz explained.

Walker and Don exchanged looks again.

"And they want me to make sure you know that Nikki's been shot," Liz added, "She's been shot in her lower left abdomen and has lost a lot of blood."

Everyone's hearts skipped beats and looked to one another.

"Shit, damn it," Don snapped loudly, hitting his truck, "Let me talk to who is in charge then Liz."

"No, one million in for hours, that's final," Liz said, then hung up.

"Liz!" Don screamed, "Liz!"

Don stared at his phone then looked up to the guys.

"What now?" Colby asked.

**To be continued…**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

Agent Don Eppes entered the office on high alert about his two agents. 'What the hell were they thinking?' ran through his mind over and over again. He was partially pissed off for how the two have handled taking them on, but it was their duty as FBI agents; on or off duty, to protect and serve, regardless of the situation.

He removed his jacket and put it on the back of his chair at his desk. His math genius brother, Charlie, was on his way to meet up with them, understanding that their night of fun was no longer a priority. Don grabbed his clipboard, paper, and pen as David and Colby did so also. Edgerton headed over to the break room in need of a dose of caffeine intake to keep him going.

Don kept looking over to the elevator to see if any of the others were on their way over yet. The elevator opened up and a feeling of relief flooded through him when he saw his brother accompanied with Amita, Larry, Gary, and surprisingly his father walked off too. Don then walked around the cubicles of where their desks sat and over to Alan.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Don asked.

"Well, everyone is here, I couldn't just stay home alone knowing that Liz and Nikki are in danger," Alan explained.

Don let out a sigh, "Fine, just go hang out by the desk or in the break room then and stay out of our way."

The five watched Alan frowned and walk off, following his sons orders. Gary then turned and looked to Don, wondering where Edgerton was. Charlie, Amita and Larry stood behind Gary waiting patiently for orders and to help out with what they can.

"Where's Edgerton?" Gary asked.

"Right here," He spoke up from afar.

Their heads all turned and he walked around the corner with a cup of coffee in his right hand.

"I needed caffeine," He said.

"Good thinking," Gary replied, "I got all of my paperwork and files right here for you guys all to read up on about of our four men. I am most positive of who they are. They've been targeting local stores for the last few weeks."

Don took the box, placed his own clipboard on top of it to help Gary out as Gary held a second box.

"Let's head over to the meeting room," Don spoke up.

David and Colby walked over, meeting up with the group and all filed inside. Once everyone was settled and everything was hooked up and working, they got started. Gary pulled up pictures of the four men that were in the store.

"We are looking at Tyrone Jenkins, age 32," Gary spoke up, "he's a hardcore gang member along with his three other pals we see here. The gang they belong to is the Crips. The Crips as we know were founded here in Los Angeles, California in 1969 by Raymond Lee Washington, Greg Davis, James Compton, and Tookie Williams."

"Is Tyrone in charge of the other three?" Colby asked, "He appears to be a man of power, look at his face expression, he looks like he's going to kill someone."

Everyone looked over to Tyrone Jenkins on the display screen and Gary let out a slight laugh and shrugged.

"I can see that, yes, he is the man in charge," Gary said, "He's in charge and he knows if he doesn't have his money and goods into his boss in less than four hours today….his ass is going to get beaten or possibly killed too. His temper fuse is short and he is angry therefore he is violent."

"So what's our plan of attack?" Colby spoke up.

Off to the side, Don sat and jotted every little piece of information from this meeting he could get on their suspects.

"I say we just take them out from a distance one by one and just fuck em over, but that's my say," Edgerton spoke up.

Don's lips curved into an amused smile from Edgerton. The way Edgerton said it; he acted like it was no big deal.

"So, if we went with that idea… what would your rank as a sniper be after that?" Don asked.

He looked to Edgerton who smiled a bit.

"We won't discuss that, but we already know what rank I am right now," Edgerton smirked.

Charlie waited patiently. He was waiting for his turn to speak up, but it was hard to with the guys shooting jokes left and right about the situation, when he clearly didn't see it as funny. Amita glanced over to Charlie with worry and looked back to the group of men that were learning about the suspects who had the two girls' captive. Don sat his notes down and started to flip through one of the files of the four men that were up on the projector screen. He wanted to know them as well as he could, he wanted to get inside their heads…

"Don't piss him off," Colby muttered to David.

David chuckled and shook his head and Edgerton smiled and sipped his coffee.

"Charlie, you got an idea in that big head of yours?" Edgerton directed towards him.

Charlie blinked and looked over to Edgerton quickly.

"Yes… actually a matter of fact I do…" Charlie spoke up.

Don looked over to his brother. Charlie walked over and grabbed the white board marker and erased some old information on there from a previous case.

"Can I get a layout of what the store looks like inside?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, right here," David answered.

David grabbed the nearest map of the store that was laid out on the table and handed it over to Charlie. He pinned it up off to the side and drew it out on the board then faced them and put the cap on the marker.

"Chinese room method," Charlie spoke up.

Lieutenant Walker crossed his arms over his chest, listening to him.

"It's the best method we have at this moment into getting in and seeing a clear picture of where Liz and Nikki are in the store, where our suspects are in the store and a way where we can get them out of the store," Charlie explained.

"Like how we had to get David's ass out of the elevator when he was held hostage with that maniac?" Colby asked.

He patted David's back hard and David rolled his eyes. Don nodded, liking the idea that his brother had just come up with out of his own ass. He looked over to Gary.

"Well can you explain to me how this method works? I wasn't around when you guys had that incident with David in the elevator," Walker pointed out.

Charlie, Amita, and Larry laid out a small snippet of information on what the method is. Still not fully understanding this method, they added in a side story to lay out a better picture of it. Don nodded, liking this idea, understanding it better with this situation than the first time his brother brought it up. Gary nodded.

"I like your line of thinking Charlie, how 'bout it Don?" Gary asked.

"I like it…let's get too it and see what we can do," Don spoke up, "In the meantime we also need to figure out how to come up with a million dollars... Gary, we should make a few phone calls. David you're in charge.. why don't you, Ian, Colby and Charlie head off over to the scene and start making plans. I'll give a few phone calls and send more back up out to help you make this plan of attack. Call me if anything should change."

"Alright, let's head out," David spoke up.

David, Colby, Edgerton, and Charlie gathered all of their belongings and dispersed. Don pulled the nearest phone by and dialed in a number while Gary jotted a few things down in his own notes. Amita and Larry walked off to the break room to be with Alan since they had nothing else to do at the moment and didn't want to be in the way.

* * *

Back at the store, Nikki and Liz sat on the floor in the same spot. Thoughts raced through Liz's head, trying to figure out a way for the two of them to get out of the store as well. Liz felt helpless, sitting there with Nikki in her lap. She wishes she could do more for her, but she just couldn't. All she could do is pray and hope that something will happen to get Nikki out of the store and in an ambulance. They still had three hours left. What was going to happen if the team didn't come up with a million dollars for these guys?

Liz let out a sigh and looked up to the ceiling then looked back down to Nikki. Nikki was a strong girl, there was no doubt about that, but to see Nikki lying in her arms, dying, was heartbreaking and doubtful that she would even survive this. Liz bit her lip and rubbed Nikki's forehead. Nikki stared back up at Liz and could see worry all over her face for her. Nikki looked to Liz's cheek that was swollen and bleeding a bit from being hit earlier. Nikki was still angry for that guy doing that to her, if she did not feel so well she would have kicked his ass for hitting her like that.

Liz looked around and Nikki opened her mouth to say something. She coughed a little to get Liz's attention. Liz looked back down to Nikki and saw her trying to speak. Liz dropped her ear close to her mouth.

"S-so…much…" She paused, "Whip cream….t-tonight…."

Liz's heart dropped more hearing Nikki trying to speak to her and trying to make a joke out of all of this. Liz clearly understood what she was trying to say though and let out a quiet laugh and looked back down to Nikki. She nodded.

"We'll get them, I promise," Liz promised with a smile, "We'll whip cream them so hard they'll be stained with whip cream for the rest of the weekend."

Nikki let out a slight laugh then started coughing. She could taste the blood and it tasted disgusting. Liz's smile faded and frowned. She rubbed Nikki's forehead again with her right hand and smirked.

"We're going to both get out of here alive okay?" Liz asked.

"I'm c…cold," Nikki stuttered.

Liz removed her jacket and put it over her chest then continued holding a cloth over her side to keep the pressure on the wound so it doesn't start bleeding again. Liz looked over to their "guard" who stared down the long food isle to the front.

"She needs a medic," Liz spoke up forcefully, "Can we at least get a medic in here?"

The guard ignored Liz.

"Hey!" Liz snapped, "I'm talking to you… we need a medic here! Now!"

He looked over to Liz when the main guy walked down to her and grabbed her throat. Liz went quiet.

"Shut…your mouth…." He breathed, "Pretty lady…"

He shoved her back and Liz broke out coughing. She dropped her head a bit then looked back up to him.

"She just needs a medic….please," Liz breathed, "Please… at least allow a medic person in here…If she dies you guys will not only be charged for robbery here, you'll be charged for a death of an FBI Agent, not just the person who shot her, but all of you….get a medic in here….now….which will easily put you on death row…"

He looked down to the other pretty lady in her arms and clenched his teeth. She looked bad. He looked back to Liz then walked off.

Outside, Edgerton, Colby, David and Charlie arrived again to make their plan of attack happen when an officer walked over with his phone to his ear.

"Which one of you is in charge here?" The officer asked, "One of the guys inside is requesting to speak to one of you."

David took the phone, "Sinclair."

The main man stared out the window to David in anger and glanced back to Nikki and Liz.

"I guess I'm going to need medical assistance in here," He spoke up.

David gulped, thinking about Nikki, knowing it's her.

"How bad is she?" David asked, "Why don't you just send her out our way, let her go."

"No," He snarled, "That's not the deal, they stay in here until we receive the money, I'm only allowing medical assistance in here for her, only to prolong her life….either take it or leave it."

David clenched his teeth; he didn't like the sound of this guy.

"Alright, we'll send someone in," David said.

He hung up.

"Edgerton," David spoke, "You're goin in."

"Why me? I should be out here to have a shot ready in case something happens, Granger, you go," Edgerton said.

Colby shrugged with a nod.

"I'm down," Colby said.

"All right Granger," David said, "You're goin inside then. Let's do this right..."

**To Be Continued…**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**_  
_

_T-2.5 hours left  
_

When finished making the several phone calls needed, Eppes slapped his phone down on its receiver. He grabbed his pen off to the side and finished up signing several documents. Being a boss was a lot of work at times, but at other times he enjoyed it as he loved challenges, and he strives to be a leader. So far, the plans were all panning out in regards to the _Chinese Room Method_ his math genius brother, Charlie, had come up with. Don was so lucky to have his little brother with him. Despite that it was unfortunate at times that he needed to ask Charlie for help, he was still very much appreciative for such help when he was at dead ends. Don finished with the forms now and wiped his face in exhaustion.

It was nearing quarter to nine already and he wish he was drunk by now; he was looking forward to a beer and a fun time with the team. Now, his two agents, a rookie agent and an agent that he had a relationship with at one point in time, were in a life and death situation leaving faith with him to save them. His stomach turned in knots as he sat at his desk in a daze with his thoughts thought of losing either of them was bad enough…but his mind raced back to his moments he had shared with Liz during their dating period when he tried to make it work for them. In fact, at some times, he wished the two were still together. To think that she was fighting to survive and being held hostage against her own free will was dreadful for him.

He felt a squeeze on his right shoulder. He glanced to his right to see who squeezed his shoulder. But then he felt a presence on his left side. He turned and looked up and found his little brother Charlie standing beside him, comforting him. Charlie sat a cup of coffee down before him.

"Have some coffee bro," Charlie offered, "you look like you need it."

"Thanks buddy," Don thanked him, "I do; I'm exhausted."

From the break room across the office to their left, their father Alan, accompanied by Larry and Amita watched his two sons. Don looked dreadful and Alan was exhilarated to see his youngest caring for his oldest; he felt proud to be their father. Alan let out a small smile when he watched the scene. Don then took a sip of the coffee Charlie had presented to him. Charlie patted Don's back with a smirk.

"How are you holding up, Don?" Charlie asked.

Don shrugged.

"I'm holding," Don answered, "just trying to stay positive; it's just been an exhausting week, I didn't think this would happen."

He stood up now with an exasperated sigh and cracked his neck. Charlie stepped back.

"I just feel like we need to do more, until we get this load of fake cash, we really cannot do a whole lot," Don explained to Charlie, "did you see where Walker went?"

Charlie nodded towards the meeting room to their right. Don looked and saw Gary standing in the meeting room alone. Don raised his eyebrows, gathered his papers, coffee, and shrugged.

"Gotta get back to work here," Don said, "You see where Robin went?"

"She's around here somewhere," Charlie answered, "I think she might have run to her own office quick to gather some more information for you guys on the guys you're dealing with; she remembered she came across some of their cases as they have been charged previously before and in her court before."

Don nodded, "Sweet, all the help I can get to figure these guys out. If you think of anything else you can come up with in that genius head of yours let me know okay Chuck?"

Charlie gritted his teeth to the annoyance of such nick name, but nodded without arguing on it due to his brother's frustration.

"Yeah sure, Donald," Charlie added with a smirk.

Don narrowed his eyes towards Charlie with a smirk, winked at him and walked off shaking his head with a slight chuckle. Charlie smiled and headed back into the break room to hang out with Amita, Larry and his dad while Don got back to work. As for Don, he entered the break room. Gary glanced over to him.

"Got the papers signed?" Gary asked.

"Yeah, but it's going to take about a half hour-forty-five minutes to get everything in plan," Don snarled.

Don tossed his belongings hard on the table. He sat his coffee down gently and shook his head with his hands to his waist now.

"Are you joking?" Gary asked, "We don't have a _half-hour forty-five minute_ wait here, Eppes."

Don looked over to Gary.

"I'm aware of that Gary," Don replied, "I told them the situation and told them to make it quicker."

Don's phone then rang.

"Eppes," Don answered.

Back over at the grocery store parking lot, David stood outside his SUV. Colby stood off to the side with several police officers, an EMT medic, and a negotiator, giving him information on how to handle with the robbers, etc. During this point in time while Colby was getting ready to bust some balls, David decided to give Don a call to let him know their plan has changed; he knew Don will not be happy one bit.

"Uh, hey Don, it's David," David greeted, "how's the plan coming up for gathering that money going?"

"Not very well, do you have some new information for me about what's happening over there?" Don asked.

David hesitated.

"I do, but you're not going to like it," David spoke up.

Don closed his eyes with an even more frustrated expression. The night was hell enough already, whatever else he was having thrown back at him, why not it be now? Gary cocked his right eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. He could clearly tell Eppes was receiving bad news, which concerned him.

"What?" Don snapped.

"We just received a phone call from one of our robbers inside," David answered, "Nikki's wounded worse than they thought so they are asking for medical assistance."

Don kept his eyes closed and rubbed the popping vein on his forehead that irritated him so as he was receiving a headache now.

"How bad is she?" Don asked.

Gary gulped; he knew one of his agents were wounded now.

"Pretty bad," David answered, "We're sending Colby in as a decoy EMT with another professional one. They only asked for one EMT, but Colby doesn't really specialize in medical assistance; So, we're going to send another guy in with him for the heck of it. Colby's going to try and negotiate with them while the other guy is cleaning Nikki up, but it sounds like she might need to get to a hospital ASAP, she doesn't sound good."

"Fuck," Don cursed, "Great, just fucking great, what a wonderful Friday night huh Sinclair?"

"Tell me about it, I knew you'd be upset about this, but I had no other choice," David replied, "I went with my gut and I'm doing everything as you are to get them out of there."

"I understand David, thanks," Don replied, "Gary and I are going over a couple things here in regards to the money, otherwise we'll be back over there soon, or one of us; According to Charlie, Robin had split from the office and went to her office to gather more information for us of who we're dealing with her. Because apparently, I don't know if it was all of them, or several of these guys we're dealing with, have already been through her court system, so I may stay back at the office; keep me updated though."

"Sure thing Don," David answered, "Colby's headed in now as we speak, gotta go."

"Be careful," Don emphasized.

"We will Don, take care," David finished.

The two hung up and Don tossed his phone angrily on top of the table. He wiped his face and rested his hands back to his waist. He stared at the pictures of the several faces of their suspects across their white board.

"What's going on Eppes?" Gary asked.

"David received a call from one of the robbers inside the store for an EMT medical assistance; Nikki's been wounded badly, sounds like she needs to be in the hospital ASAP; she's fighting for her life right now," Don answered.

"I see," Gary said, "so our plan has changed?"

"David's sending Colby and another real medic inside. Colby will be in there trying to make a negotiation with the robbers to get the girls out," Don explained, "so yeah, our plan changed up a bit, but we still need to lure them out with the cash."

Gary looked over to the faces of their suspects again as well. Don grabbed his phone again.

"I'm going to give Robin a call to see where she's at if she's gathered the information yet," Don said, "excuse me."

Don walked off and left Gary alone.

* * *

During her law enforcement training and even training with the FBI at Quantico, she's heard dying from a gunshot wound to the stomach was the worst and most painful and slow death anyone could go through—she couldn't have agreed more. Her body was numbing, she could feel she was dying; she has grown cold and was slipping in and out of consciousness. Liz had gone quiet, in fact, she has lost so much blood already and been in and out of consciousness so much, and she hasn't a clue of what was even happening. For all she knew, Liz could also be dead right with her from the silence, which scared her.

Nikki forced her eyes open and was blinded by brightness from the grocery stores lights from above. Nikki slowly moved her eyes to the life and saw Liz with her head back against the wall; she was bored, exhausted, agitated and pissed off as hell—her face read it all. It was good to see that she was alive, her silence scared Nikki. Liz heard Nikki clear her throat and Liz looked quickly down to her and smiled and rubbed her forehead.

"Hey girl," Liz greeted, "We're getting a medic in here right now as we speak, don't worry."

Nikki wanted to reply, but her voice was lost from weakness and exhaustion. She didn't matter if a medic came or not at this point, she was ready to die. The pain was so unbearable, she didn't know how much longer she could keep fighting for. She just hoped Don was doing everything he could to get them out, when Nikki saw Colby's face appear before her, Nikki knew Don was doing everything they could; if not Don, at least David. Liz looked to Colby and the medic, surprised to see Colby in a medic uniform, but realized what was going on.

"See," Liz now said to Nikki, "I told you the medics would be in here."

Nikki just stared blankly. They moved her out of Liz's lap and got to work. Colby and Liz made worried eye contact and gulped, hoping this new plan would get them out, if not Liz, at least Nikki so she wouldn't die. Colby looked down to Nikki who was slipping into consciousness again. Colby cleared his throat, he was about to say Nikki's name, but he was a medic, he had to make it appear that he didn't know her at all; he looked directly into Liz's eyes. He wondered if she knew what was going on and hoped she figured out by now that he was in there to try and get both of them out.

"What's her name?" Colby lied to Liz.

"Nikki," Liz replied.

Colby nudged her and Nikki's eyes opened again all the way and looked directly to Colby.

"Hey Nikki, we're going to save you, just relax, okay?" Colby replied, "Nikki…."

The way she gazed up at him, he felt like she was looking past them. Colby's heart raced seeing the site of Nikki, which reminded him of many friends he lost over in Afghanistan. But, to see Nikki in such rough shape, similar to the guys he lost, was heartbreaking for him. She was like a little sister to him and he was furious. But, he could tell she was getting ready to let go.

"Nikki," Colby said again, "Hey, c'mon now."

He tilted her head as the medic started working on her quickly. Liz gulped in worry; she realized it might be too late.

"Nikki," Colby repeated.

He patted her left cheek gently.

"Hey sweetheart, can you hear me?" Colby asked again, "Hey."

Tears fell down Nikki's cheeks. Liz rubbed her forehead.

"Nikki," Liz breathed, "Nikki! Oh god…."

Liz and Colby looked to each other with open mouths in shock.

_To be continued…_


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

_9:00 P.M._

Don sat in his truck out in the parking lot with the window down. He needed air, a break, and also needed to have a talk with Robin with new developments. Charlie had also explained to Don that she left to her office as she had vital information in regards to whom they were dealing with. If that was the case it could possibly be a breakthrough in figuring out how to deal with these bastards. It was evident that they were dealing with the Crips, but what would be more helpful was to know who the leader was, maybe use him to bring down the robbers with some psychological scare tactics. As Don sat there with his phone to his right ear, waiting for Robin to pick up, she finally answered after a few rings.

"Brookes," she answered.

"Hey sweetheart, Charlie says you escaped from the office and headed over to yours to get more information?" Don asked.

Robin let out a slight laugh, rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"No I did not escape babe," Robin laughed, "yes, I am here at my office right now. I left when you and Gary were going over the case material in the meeting room. I am at my office going through the Crips, a couple of the robbers sounded familiar that's because I've had them in my court already, going against their cases to bring them and the Crips down," Robin explained.

"But?" Don asked.

"But most importantly, I think I might know who their leader is. We've been trying to tackle after this guy in the last several years now actually, he's quite good at hiding and an expert with money laundering and the drug trade. In fact, him and his men are one of the top notch street gangs right now with money laundering and the drug trade, providing the best of the best. We never know where he is, but he always seems to keep coming up into our numbers," Robin explained.

"Uh huh, so you have some information on this guy?" Don asked.

"Yes, it's somewhere around here," Robin replied, "if I can find the bit of information we have on this guy, then it might be beneficial for you and Gary."

"So who is this guy?" Don asked, "What's his name? I'm sure I can do a background check on him."

"His names Jovani Mendel," Robin answered.

Don't jotted his name down in his notepad. Robin continued to shuffle through the papers and documents in her several filing cabinets, pulling out information related to the case as silence fell between them. Don then decided it was time to let her know about the new change of plans. He cleared his throat.

"Our plan has changed a little Robin," Don added.

"What do you mean a little?" Robin answered.

"Nikki's worse than we suspected, the robbers requested to speak to David for a medic. David sent a professional medic inside and then Colby in with him as a decoy partner," Don explained.

"So are we still using the _Chinese Room_ method from Charlie?" Robin asked, "Or won't it work now?"

"Oh it will work, David had to go with his gut," Don answered, "Plus we need a clearer picture inside."

Robin gulped and stood still now with a sigh. She could tell how stressed out Don was from everything it has been a hellish week for him and night. A night of fun and relaxation turned into hell and now two of his agents were looking at death as their new friend, under Don's responsibility. Robin frowned as Don continued talking.

"Nikki may die," Don sighed.

Don closed his eyes and hit his steering wheel hard; Robin heard.

"Sweetheart, you can't blame yourself for this, you weren't there. They're FBI Agents just like you; they were doing their job," Robin explained.

Robin continued looking for those documents on Jovani Mendel, but now as she finally came to the section of his documents, the second was empty. Robin froze now and went quiet as Don spoke up.

"I know…but I still feel responsible," Don added.

Robin felt the color in her face completely drain from her forehead down. Someone has been in her office and violated her privacy. Was someone already watching her? Who would have been in her office? Don noticed Robin has gone quiet and was concerned.

"You still there babe?" Don asked.

"They're gone," Robin answered now.

Panic mode struck her.

"What's gone? Who?" Don asked.

"The files on Jovani Mendel…They're gone! Someone's been in my office," Robin quickly explained.

Her heart pounded now and her mind raced. Don then shoved the keys into his ignition as his heart pounded.

"Close your door, lock it, and notify security that there's been a break in," Don explained, "I'll be right there—don't move."

"Uh huh," Robin breathed, "Hurry."

They hung up and Don sped off to Robin's office. On his way over to Robin's office, Don called Gary to let him know what was going on in case something else dramatic happens to him, Robin, or both of them. Gary told Don to stay safe and keep him updated and the two hung up as Don made his way over to Robin's office now.

* * *

_Grocery Store_

Colby and Liz stared at one another with open mouth's, the medic of which Colby was partnered up with, quickly slapped two fingers to Nikki's neck in hopes of getting a pulse. Liz and Colby looked back down to her, both hardly breathing. Liz sat up on her knees and stared down at her best friend.

"C'mon Nikki," Liz breathed.

The medic quickly pushed Nikki's mouth open.

"She has a faint pulse, we need to get her to a hospital now or we will lose her," the medic snapped.

The medic had Colby come over and put the oxygen mask on over her mouth and nose. The medic and Colby worked together to give Nikki CPR to revive her and keep her heart working. As the two worked on saving her life, Liz looked over to the main guy in the front of the store, smoking a cigarette and reading a magazine like nothing was happening. Liz then stood up as Colby kept his eyes on her. Liz and Nikki's "bodyguard" watched Liz walk off and yelled after her for doing whatever she wanted to do.

"Hey!" he shouted after her.

Colby looked back to him to make sure he wouldn't go after Liz. Their main guy looked to Liz who walked up to him while he smoked.

"Yes, pretty lady?" he smiled.

"She has a faint pulse, the medic's need to take her to the hospital," Liz demanded.

He blew the smoke into her face; she coughed a little and waved the smoke out of her face.

"Is that so?" he replied, "Well, I don't have my money, I was nice enough to even allow the medics in the store in the first place. They're medics—they can fix her up here without needing to bring her to the hospital…"

"You don't understand!" Liz shouted, "She will die!"

The man stared back at Liz with annoyance and anger. He tossed his cigarette down and twisted it into the floor with the tip of his right shoe then back handed Liz across the face. Liz dropped to her hand and knees as blood gushed from her nose. She put her left hand to her nose to block the blood and looked up to the man in fear, anger, and shock. He then crouched down beside her and put his gun to the back of her head.

"You're not in charge here, pretty lady, I am," he said.

Trembling, she removed her bloody hand and spoke up to him.

"Do you want to be on death row when you're finally apprehended?" Liz questioned, "You're not only going to be charged for robbery and among other things, but you'll be charged for the death of a _Federal Officer_, which will put you straight to death row, buddy."

The man clenched his teeth. She continued.

"Release her, now," Liz demanded.

He glanced down to the two medics working on Nikki and back to Liz.

"Fine, I'll need a new hostage then," he spoke up loudly, "medics!"

The two looked down to Liz and the bastard and exchanged looks. Colby stood up and walked down to them.

"Yes?" Colby asked.

"I'm going to need a new hostage," the man demanded.

Colby and Liz looked to one another as blood continued leaking out from her nose. Colby gulped and looked back to the bastard. There was no way they were going to get out of this one.

"Fine, I'll stay," Colby said, "take me, only if you can let Nikki and the other medic out so she can get to the hospital."

"Fine," he snarled, "Get her out of here."

The medic grabbed his supplies, lifted Nikki off the ground and carried her out of the store. David yelled at everyone to hold their fire and then sent other medical officers over to the one that had Nikki. David ran over to him.

"Oh god," David breathed, "Nikki!"

"We need to get her to the hospital now," the officer said.

David watched them put her on a gurney bed and pop her into the back of the ambulance. The ambulance then sped off. David then noticed Colby wasn't outside.

"Colby," David snarled.

The negotiator walked over to David and whispered into his ear that Colby traded himself in for Nikki.

"Fuck!" David yelled.

* * *

_US Attorney Office_

Don finally arrived at the US Attorney's Office. It was not far from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, so he got there quickly. He spotted Robin's car parked up at the front near the entrance so he parked right next to her. He removed the keys out of his ignition, slipped out of his truck and then made his way into the office. At the front desk stood a middle aged security officer, who smiled; Don comes there often, so they knew of each other.

"Hi Agent Eppes," he greeted.

"Hey, did Robin give you a call?" Don asked.

"Yes, I just sent one of my officers over to her office, good to see you," he replied.

"Good to see you too," Don said.

Don took off to Robin's office to check on her. When Don came to Robin's door though, he found it slightly ajar and her office light on still as she was just in there. Don removed his gun, because he told her to close it and lock it until he got there.

"Robin?" Don called for her.

He slowly pushed open the door when he discovered the other security officer with a gun pointed to Robin's right eye temple and left hand over her mouth. Tears fell down Robin's cheeks when Don found her this way. The knuckles on Don's hands turned all white and he stepped closer with his gun directly pointed to the officer.

"Release her, now," Don growled.

"I've heard a lot about you Agent Eppes, especially when I found out you two here became a couple," the officer explained, "not only myself, but the robbers and the men that they work for, all admire you and your brothers' skills."

Don stepped closer and looked at him confused.

"Excuse me?" Don asked, "You're saying this was all planned from the beginning? For what purpose? Just to test out me and my brother? How are you in on this? Or more so, what do you get out of this and why do you need Robin?"

The man stared back into Don's eyes.

"That's none of your business, Agent Eppes," he replied, "but I can tell you that I cannot release your fiancé here because the boss, the big man that you are all after right now, would like to have a meeting with her."

They faintly heard police sirens and Don stepped forward again with his gun pointed at him still. Don noticed the window wide open ready to escape. Robin stared back to Don who was panicking—it was bad enough that he was about to lose one agent, possibly two others, but now his fiancé?

"Release her!" Don shouted.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that Agent Eppes," the security officer said.

He then shot Don in the shoulder and he fell backwards and hit his head hard. Robin screamed after Don while he dragged her out through the window, but she put up a fight. Don could faintly hear Robin screaming for him, but he hit his head so hard, he couldn't push himself up to save her, so he just stayed in position and slipped into consciousness knowing Robin was now taken hostage with the same individuals related to the robbery.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey guys, quick update—as of lately I haven't been in the mood for writing FanFiction. It comes and it goes, so sorry for such late chapter's, but it makes it even a better read as you guys are anxiously waiting for it right? So, I usually plot my stories out, I did with this one for a while, but now I'm kinda just going with the flow of it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm working on Chapter 6 next until I can't write anymore again or until I get a brain fart. I'm not sure how long this story is going to be. Thanks for the reviews and criticisms and I am so glad you are enjoying this story as much as I am! Poor Don!


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